God the Father in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas is an exposition of Aquinas- theology of God the Father as a coherent whole. Surprising as it might be, there has not been an extended treatment of Aquinas- theology of God the Father. Three misconceptions are addressed: (1) the idea that Aquinas- speculative Trinitarian theology is detached from Scripture; (2) the supposition that in Aquinas- understanding, the Father-s relation to the Holy Spirit is an afterthought to the Father-s relation to the Son; and (3) the view that for Thomas, the Father has no proper mode of action in the created universe - since Thomas maintains that in all ad extra activity, the Trinity acts as a single principle. Two less polemical, more perennial issues are discussed as well. First, the concept of relation, as the key to a coherent account of three distinct persons in one same divine essence, emerges as an important theme in Aquinas- exposition of the Father-s paternity and innascibility.
